Examination of Potential Factors to Predict Fieldwork Performance: A Program Evaluation Project

Abstract

This program evaluation project evaluated the validity of a hypothesized model for predicting fieldwork performance using data of 121 occupational therapy students from a single university. The first aim was to evaluate the hypothesized relationships between observed measures (e.g., admission GPAs) and proposed latent factors (e.g., academic achievement) for predictor and outcome variables. Factor analysis of the outcome variable revealed a three-factor structure, measured by 13 items from the Fieldwork Performance Evaluation for the Occupational Therapy Student. However, factor analyses of the predictor variables did not support the proposed latent factors: Academic Achievement and Professional Potential. The second aim was to evaluate the hypothesized effects of predictor variables on level II fieldwork performance. Results of the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis supported some of the hypothesized relationships. The model was a good fit to the data; however, the final SEM model only accounted for 16.4% of the variance. Results showed that four of the eight observed variables were predictive. Two academic measures (i.e., admission overall GPA and science GPA) and two non-academic measures (i.e., Myer’s Briggs Thinking type indicator and number of observation hours) demonstrated small predictive relationships with Evaluation Skills. Admission overall GPA and thinking type indicator had positive predictive relationships; whereas, admission science GPA and number of hours had inverse relationships. None of the observed variables predicted the other two fieldwork performance factors: Professional Behaviors and Intervention Skills. Although the results of this project did not fully support the hypothesized model, some interesting findings emerged for future exploration.

Keywords

• Fieldwork
• predictor model
• structural equation modeling
• clinical performance
• occupational therapy students